


Dipped in Poison

by MadManta



Series: D/S-Verse [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, D/s-verse, Dom/sub, Dominant Reno, Dubcon Fighting, Gland expressing, Hormone glands, M/M, Masturbation, Sub Drop, Submissive Rude, Subspace, Unresolved Sexual Tension, gripping, not a/b/o, self lubricating dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:55:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26569156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadManta/pseuds/MadManta
Summary: D/S-verse, where the biggest member of the Turks is a secret designated Submissive. One-off story of frustration, boys being stupid, bad self esteem, and a whole lot of Rude getting himself off while Reno quietly perishes.
Relationships: Reno/Rude (Compilation of FFVII)
Series: D/S-Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932418
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	Dipped in Poison

**Author's Note:**

> here. I consider this a finished piece. it'll make you upset. it's basically just a full on cock-block. but you know you want it, because this series will continue. ... after I finish my other WIPs. :)

Rude had been having some ‘off’ days lately.

He was doing his best to stay under control, but his more embarrassing biological urges had been flaring up, causing him to double up on his usual medications. That, coupled with a particularly stressful mission and a bit of misuse of potions, led towards this particular misstep: he simply did not step out of the way.

To be fair, Rude’s brain at that time did not consider it a misstep. Instead, he only saw his jumping forward, putting himself between the explosion of magic and his long-term partner, as the correct way to protect the man. After the icy magic left frostbite scars across Rude’s back, he fell forward over Reno, who was swearing up a storm at him for doing something so reckless.

It would have been standard affair if Rude hadn’t been so damn weak.

“Sorry, partner,” he said through gritted teeth, and promptly passed out above Reno.

When he was jerked back into consciousness, it was quieter; he’d been rolled onto his side and Reno was crouching next to him in an alley, angrily talking on his PHS. Reno’s voice, a constant comfort, faded in and out before he blinked to wakefulness. One of his lenses was broken. Typical.

“…with no elixirs! You didn’t prepare us at all! Oh, yeah, standard procedure my whole fuckin’ ass, Tseng—don’t. Don’t hang up, I still have a monster fuckin’ dom I have to drag home—Tseng!” Reno growled, barely restraining himself from crushing the phone in his hands when Rude’s eyes met his. Reno’s expression changed to relief a second later, dropping to his knees. “Heey buddy, you decided to join the living?”

“…feel like shit,” Rude coughed, and Reno rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, no fuckin’ kidding. C’mon, you carrying a Cure with you?”

“No magic,” Rude wheezed.

Reno frowned at him, and reached down to pull him up. Rude helped get himself to standing, but his entire back felt, ironically, on fire. “Well, then I guess we can drag you to a clinic.”

“HQ, please,” Rude said, voice barely there.

“What, you kiddin’?” Reno scoffed. “Any clinic’s gonna be able to take a look at you and get you healed up.”

Any clinic would strip him and see the reddened bruises on his body that covered very under-appreciated submissive glands, and if Reno was with him, that was just not gonna happen. “No. Clinic’s not gonna cut it. Need to talk to the doc.”

Reno’s lip curled. Reno hated ‘the doc’, Hojo, and made it known that he hated that Rude went to ‘that slimy creep’ for _anything._ But other than Rude’s own boss, only Hojo knew his little secret and was the reason he had as much submissive suppressant and medical-grade dominant lube as he did. Hojo was certainly not Rude’s favorite person, but if he could get past the irritating _teasing_ the man injected into appointments, he was a very reasonable place to get otherwise unhealthy artificial bio boosters.

Hojo was undesignated, and thus had no preoccupation with Rude’s unusual stature for a submissive, which was something he also appreciated. When he had been younger, clinics had been an exercise in humility, to be sure.

“A second level Cure could fix this, and any place—”

“Reno,” Rude barked, a rare break in his calm demeanor. He let out a shuddering gasp and Reno stuck his arm underneath Rude’s shoulders, doing his best not to touch his back, which was visible to the world as the back of his suit jacket and been frozen clean off. Rude leaned into Reno’s weight, only a little because he could feel Reno’s shoulder pressing against his chest. The tender gland in his left pectoral wasn’t directly under pressure, but it was close enough that little sparks of submission filled Rude’s mind and let him ignore the whip-sharp pain of his back. “Please,” he said then, voice almost dreamy. “Take me back to HQ.”

Rude didn’t make eye contact, too embarrassed by how he felt sucking up the pain this way, and instead just listened to Reno sigh in annoyance and guide him back to the train. They were quiet all the way back to Sector 1’s upper plate, where Reno got him back to HQ and into the parking garage to get in one of the private elevators ‘for privileged staff only’.

Rude finally pulled himself away from Reno, leaning one palm flatly against the wall to hold himself up. He was putting all his focus into staying clear headed. With Reno so close for so long, and with his own pain tolerance starting to waver, he had never been closer to a public drop. The distance from his partner helped.

“I just don’t get it,” Reno was saying, folding his arms. “It’s like you want him to experiment on you, or somethin’.”

Rude didn’t respond. The elevators opened up to the dreary metal lab floor, and Rude made his way to Hojo’s observation labs. “Reno,” Rude muttered. “You should head home.”

“After walking all this way? Yeah right,” Reno snorted, almost boxing Rude in as they walked. “I’m gonna see what makes all this shit so fuckin’ worth it.”

Rude stopped walking and Reno _barely_ stopped short enough to prevent bumping into Rude’s tender back. Rude’s shoulders were a straight line and they were up at his ears. “This is a private matter, Reno.”

“You better not be doin’ somethin’ nasty with him,” Reno accused. “You’re _way_ too hot to bottomfeed—”

“That’s _not_ what’s going on. Just, please go.” Rude’s voice had that tone that always managed to manipulate Reno, and he wasn’t sure how. It always tugged a little bit at his heart strings, like Rude had a secret robot heart or gastro-intestinal issues, or something else that was just so embarrassing and private that of course Reno wanted to leave him alone.

Reno just stared at him hard. They looked at each other for a long thirty seconds before Reno broke free, turning and raising a hand in the air. “Fine, fine. But I want to walk your dumb ass home.”

Rude’s shoulders slowly lowered as the tension left him. “Thanks, partner.”

“Everyone thinks I’m the manipulative one,” Reno muttered as he turned the opposite direction. Rude made his way to Hojo’s labs, peering around before he saw the man hunched over a microscope.

“Doc,” Rude said, and Hojo didn’t even glance up.

“I can smell the burnt skin from here,” Hojo uttered, twisting the scope. “Get your jacket and shirt off and lay down.”

Rude did as he was told, and when Hojo deemed it time, he finally paid enough attention to Rude to clean the wounds.

“Doc,” Rude whispered, voice a shaking line. “Put me under.”

“Why? You’ll be fine once I scrub—”

“The pain,” Rude answered. “It’s— I’m going to drop.”

Hojo made a sound of disgust, pulling his hands away. Hojo _also_ knew Rude’s hard and fast set of rules. High up that list was ‘don’t let Rude achieve sub drop’ because _that was not a thing Rude did_ , under medical supervision or otherwise. Rude shut his eyes and felt the pressurized, uncomfortable sting of a needle, and then he was asleep.

When he woke up he was sore on his arm from the tranquilizer, but his back just felt numb. Reno was staring at him, his expression unreadable.

“Okay,” Rude said, pushing himself up from the observation table where Hojo had most likely left him. He was still disoriented, which was why he just allowed himself to sit up and let Reno look at him and see the pattern of inflamed bruises in a recognizably submissive pattern: between neck and shoulder and at the bottom-left of his chest. He had his pants on, at least, so Reno wouldn’t know the one at his inner thigh was twice as tender as the others.

Reno was staring at him in silence. Rude glanced at his hands and saw his fingers curled into tight fists — of rage or restraint, he wasn’t sure. He had never _felt_ this kind of silence from his partner before, and it was a little terrifying. And what was worse, was the shirt he was crushing in one hand.

Rude blew out a slow breath, standing up and walking over to Reno. “Now you know. Please don’t rip my shirt.” He held out his hand. Reno’s eyes flickered down to his hand the same as ever and then shoved the shirt into it. Reno quickly turned around, crossing his arms. He was fuming, toe tapping in irritation. Rude shouldered into the shirt with a soft hiss, buttoning it up.

“The _amount of lies_ ,” Reno said, whipping around as Rude got that top button fastened, “that you have _told to me_ to hide _this_.” Reno’s mouth was shaking with fury. “That’s unforgivable, bro.”

Rude pulled a fresh pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and flicked them over his eyes. “It’s nobody’s business, and I certainly never said I wasn’t anything else.”

Reno’s mouth dropped open. “You honestly are claiming that just because we assumed you were dominant, that it’s on _me_?”

Rude shrugged.

Reno made a sound that reminded Rude of furious teenage girls. “This is clearly not even about you being a sub,” he hissed, pointing a finger up in Rude’s face. “You’ve been putting yourself in harm’s way and refusing medical aid at a clinic, why, so the normies won’t find out?”

“I don’t like how they treat me,” Rude said, and Reno winced as though he’d not considered that particular struggle before.

“Well, why in the hell are you all fuckin’ swollen up?” Reno asked, hands spreading. “That ain’t usual for anybody, no matter where they got ‘em, unless you haven’t been treating yourself for it.”

Rude grunted. “That’s still none of your business.”

“Pretty sure it _is_ ,” Reno spat. “You clearly have got issues if you’re not gettin’ your needs catered to. What if you fuckin’ drop on a mission?”

Rude threw his hands in the air. “Precisely the reason I _didn’t_ tell everyone. The second you mention my designation, oh, what if something happens?” His mouth drew into a thin line. “How long have you known me?”

“Not long enough, apparently,” Reno growled.

“How _long_ , asshole,” Rude hissed.

“Five years, at least.”

“How many times have I _dropped_?”

Reno didn’t say anything, because there was only one answer: zero. He turned around again, not wanting to make eye contact. “Just thought we were close,” Reno said, and Rude hated his stupid heart for wanting to reassure the other man.

Instead Rude just cleared his throat. “Now you know,” he said. “Now I’ll be heading home.”

Reno stuck his chin out like the stubborn mule he was. “I’m still takin’ you.”

Rude sighed, but relented. It was quiet again, only this time the nervous energy thrumming off of Reno felt like its very own kind of white noise. Half way to Rude’s place, he just stopped. “What? You clearly want to ask me something.”

Reno exhaled a long breath. “When was the last time somebody took care of you?”

Rude stared straight ahead and started walking again. Reno chased after him, but still Rude didn’t answer.

“More than a year?” No answer. “Two years?” No answer. Reno’s voice grew horrified. “Longer than that?”

“Never, Reno,” Rude said. “I don’t _do_ that shit.”

Reno mouthed ‘never’ and took a full ten seconds, frozen in shock. Soon after Rude heard his clomping footsteps as he dove back after him. “Never? Like, sure, I can see you not wanting anything up—”

“Reno,” Rude hissed.

“Still, though! How are you even fuckin’ functional?”

“Hojo has a lot of medications that keep me… Stable,” Rude said, voice flat.

“Rude,” Reno said softly, and the concern sparked a flare of irritation in Rude’s gut. “That’s no way to live.”

“Been doing fine.” Rude could see his apartment building, thank god. The sooner this awkwardness was over, the better. He reached the doors, and Reno dashed up to him to grab his wrist. Rude stopped, letting Reno touch him, and turned to look at him.

“Rude,” Reno said, voice still hushed. “Don’t you trust me?”

Rude frowned just a little, and placed his hand over Reno’s. He gave it an encouraging squeeze, and then removed it from his arm. “Not with this.” He felt Reno’s eyes on him as he finally returned home.

* * *

Reno wasn’t leaving him alone. Rude could tell that what was happening was exactly what he’d wanted to avoid. Reno’s trust had been eroded, and now he wanted to keep a close eye on Rude in case he’d give in to some submissive urge, or something else ridiculous.

They were the only ones left in the office for the day, left inside to wait out the clock until they could escape into the dark, and Rude was trying his best to read tomorrow’s report briefing.

Reno was practically vibrating in his seat next to him. “Why the hell are we even still here?”

“Cause we have jobs, Reno,” Rude said flatly.

“What, you’re just reading something we’re just gonna read tomorrow before we go out and do what we have to do. Definitely not a reason to keep you here.”

Rude sighed, shutting the manila folder and looking up. “What’s your problem?”

Reno looked stung. “Me? What’s _your_ problem? Normally you’d be just as likely to come out with me for a beer. We’d have been gone half an hour ago. Now you just wanna sit here and read?”

Rude shrugged. “Wanna stay focused.”

A strange look of understanding passed through Reno’s face. “Have you been having trouble with that?”

Rude huffed and turned back to the damn folder.

“Come on,” Reno wheedled, and it was that familiar, sly voice that Rude had always secretly loved. Reno got them into so much trouble, and it was _usually_ fun, or at least exhilarating. Now, it was rubbing him the wrong way. “You know I can help you with that.”

“Pass,” Rude ground out. He closed the folder and stood up. Maybe he’d just leave now anyway, considering any work he’d have liked to get done was just going to get interrupted by his annoying partner. Then, Reno’s hand, too hot for Rude’s liking, settled on the back of his neck. Rude felt his hackles rise immediately, his lip twisting into a soft snarl. “Reno…”

“Why are you fighting me?” Reno asked in disbelief. “You’re clearly fucking unbalanced and you said you’d trust me with your life. Why is this any different?”

Rude shrugged away Reno’s hand. “It’s what I know,” he said, as if that explained it.

“That’s _not_ good enough,” Reno growled, and reached for him again. This time Rude brought up his arm at a sharp angle to block the touch more forcibly.

“ _Don’t_ touch me,” Rude whispered. A thin line of panic was starting to wrap around his spine and spread outwards. He was vying for a fight, all while his body was screaming at him to put his head down and let Reno get his fingers deep in the taut muscles of his neck; his thumb on that swollen gland between the crux of throat and shoulder.

Reno’s eyes flashed at him. “Or what, partner?” There was a noise coming out of Reno, deep in his throat, and Rude recognized it as a dominant’s growl. A nervous bead of sweat slipped down his temple.

“I’ll make you sorry,” Rude hissed.

“Oh, really? You actually gonna fight me?” Reno got up in his space, his sharp canines a focal point Rude struggled to look away from. “Huh? Are ya?” Reno pushed him hard on the chest, and Rude was only barely able to stifle the whine at the rough touch. Rude’s expression was changing from tepid to full blown anger, and he grabbed Reno’s wrists, hauling him backwards.

“Don’t fuck around, Reno. This is _none_ of your business, and I don’t _need_ any of your help.” He dropped Reno’s hands and then took three large strides away from him, sure that would be the end of it.

Reno’s voice caused his steps to stutter into stillness. “But don’t you _want_ my help?” he challenged, his tone bordering on hurt.

Rude didn’t turn to look at him, refusing to be manipulated. “I didn’t ask for it. So no.”

“For the love of fuck!” Reno yelled, and jumped at him again. Rude did turn so that he could block Reno’s arms, but Reno actually sweep-kicked him. Rude stumbled backwards, surprised enough that he didn’t have time to catch himself before Reno hooked his elbow around Rude’s neck. “Yield, you stubborn fuck!” Rude felt Reno kick at the back of his leg, forcing him down to his knees. Reno’s arm was tight around his throat, but not enough to actually cut off his airway, just to hold him in place. Rude’s hands came up to grab at his arm to pull it away, but Reno was pushing all his weight down on the man from behind, pressing him into the wall.

“This isn’t—how I wanted—to do this!” Reno ground out. Rude could feel the man’s breath on the back of his head and the heat of his arms holding him in place; he breathed in the smell of his sweet-and-musky cologne and the sound of that deep growl that was knocking some dust off of old memories.

Rude was trying hard to stay in control but with Reno on his back, he was rapidly losing that fight. “Like you actually wanted to in the first place,” he hissed, finally pulling Reno’s arm away from his neck enough that he could try and wriggle free. He didn’t get the chance as Reno’s arm did withdraw, but his hand came out viper fast to wrap around the back of his neck. “No—!”

Reno’s fingers dug deep into the flesh of his neck in a dominant’s grip and Rude felt his entire body go slack. Reno’s other arm came around him, wrapped around his chest, as he kept his hand solidly in Rude’s flesh. “Yes, I wanted to,” he said, his voice tired and breathy instead of the angry growl it had been. “I’ve wanted to do this to you since before I even knew the truth. God, have I wanted to.” Rude’s body broke out in sweaty shivers, falling limp against the wall.

Rude was angry, but he was mostly just overwhelmed. He hadn’t had an actual person grip him since he’d come of age. He’d shot up like a damn weed once he hit puberty, and then he’d presented as submissive, and his sweet old grandparents didn’t really know what to do with that. Rude knew what being a submissive was about and knew he didn’t want it. Knew he didn’t like it, instinctively, even though he’d never personally let himself experience it. Instead he moved to Midgar, found a hormone suppression supply, and clawed his way up under the guise of being a very calm, collected dominant.

And now the way Reno was gripping him had caused his thighs to tremble in a way he’d only felt when he fucked himself silently with a toy. And it was just a hand on the back of his neck.

“Rude?” Reno breathed, his voice a soft beacon; Reno’s lips were pressed into the skin of Rude’s head. It was unbearably intimate. “You okay?”

Rude was furious, wanting to scream at him for gripping him without his permission, but he couldn’t form words. His mouth felt wet with drool; it was open as he panted for breath. The panic that had wrapped around his spine was now in every nerve ending in his body, keeping him frozen, his head down.

Reno’s fingers let go of his neck. “Rude?”

Blood rushed to Rude’s cheeks _and_ his groin. “Fu-uuck,” he hissed, falling forward. “I told you _no_ ,” he said, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

Reno let out a small sound of frustration. “You were _never_ gonna tell me yes, Rude.”

Rude forced himself to slide away from Reno’s grasp until his back was to the wall. He fell down it, letting his legs splay out in front of him. He was thankful he still had his sunglasses to hide behind. “Well, maybe that’s how I’d prefer it to be, _Reno_.”

Rude, to his credit, felt a little guilty when he saw the stung look on Reno’s face. “Fine. I get it.” Reno pushed himself up to his feet and turned away from him. “No sub’s gonna want someone shorter than them anyway, much less one like me.” He straightened his jacket hem and Rude had to look up at him. He was gorgeous, so lithe and muscular and had taken Rude, someone five inches taller than him, down with ease. He was unbearably desirable. He’d never wanted anyone more in his life, and that scared him enough to keep him on the ground and quiet while the dominant talked shit about himself.“Just don’t fucking kill yourself from medicating, okay?”

Rude swallowed, drooling too much to avoid it. “I’ll be fine,” he said, even though his voice was tremulous. He had to look away from Reno. They were both good at restraining themselves, but seeing this man who he trusted with his life attempting to dominate him was too much to bear.

“Such a dickhead,” Reno growled, and stomped out of the office, leaving Rude trying to catch his breath on the floor alone.

Ifrit’s shackled dick, did he want to give in.

“Come on,” Rude murmured to himself. He clenched his right fist, then his left. “You got this.” He pushed himself up and let the wall take his weight while he tried to center himself and focus. His neck felt feverishly hot, and the gland there was definitely swollen and tender. Normally a dominant could ease that — either with a harsh press or by licking and sucking on it — but Rude didn’t want that. He wanted to take care of this on his own. “Easy now.”

There was a tense feeling low in his belly, like a hunger that he couldn’t feed, but he was familiar with that. It was why he had a big drawer full of fake dicks at home. It had just never ached so strongly before. He sighed as he got himself to standing on his own two feet, shaking his head. He was gonna be sore tomorrow.

He didn’t catch anyone on his way out; Reno must have gone somewhere, anywhere, else. Which was fine for Rude. He had himself to look out for.

When he got back to his apartment, he stripped himself and got into a burning hot shower. He clenched his teeth and dug his thumb in to the tender gland at his neck, letting out a pathetic mewl as it seemed to ease some tension and send it straight to his dick instead.

He cleaned himself thoroughly, barely taking the time to dry himself off before he ended up in his bedroom. He stuck a dildo to his headboard, smothered it in prescription dominant’s pheromone-laced lube, and fucked himself until there were tears coming out of his eyes.

 _Real_ sore tomorrow.

The next day at work was tense between the partners, though Elena and Tseng didn’t seem to notice. Elena was drinking out of a giant coffee thermos and had twelve different file folders open in front of her. Rude was doing his damndest to just type out paperwork as slowly as possible. He had a patrol with Reno that afternoon and wanted to put it off as long as humanly possible.

Reno was also specifically ignoring him, instead leaning on Elena’s desk and commenting on every part of what she was reading. She was in good humor, though, and kept flicking him on the arm. Reno would feign a truly brutal flesh wound, and then grin at her, asking why she was catching up on so much paperwork.

“Rude,” Elena finally said, throwing a highlighter down. “Can you please take this dog for a walk?”

Reno scowled at her, looking like a wounded cat. “Who are you callin’ a dog?”

 _Time’s up._ Rude closed the terminal. “Alright, fine. We have a patrol anyway.” He pushed himself up and away. “C’mon.”

Reno was watching him with the kind of suspicion that he usually saved for interns on their second day. Rude sighed, and tried to lighten the mood with, “I won’t bite.”

Reno’s eyebrows popped up as he threw himself off of the desk. “ _Doubt_.”

Elena raised one eyebrow, but said nothing, glad to finally be able to work without Reno hovering over her shoulder. Rude straightened his tie as he and Reno made their way out of their offices to to the elevator.

“We gonna talk about it?” Reno asked as the numbers rose.

Rude didn’t respond. That was as good as a ‘no’.

Reno made a kind of strangled sound, and then just shouldered past Rude to get through the elevator door as it opened. “Fine. Like I care.”

The patrol was as uncomfortable as it had ever been, and only half because Reno wasn’t rambling on about this or that. Rude was good at keeping himself from limping, but boy his thighs were tense; there was a swollen gland there, too, on top of how long he’d been using his thighs to jackhammer—

That memory made him a little lightheaded with arousal, and he stumbled forward, bumping in to Reno’s shoulder.

“The hell?” Reno asked, glancing over his shoulder. His expression was annoyed, though something else flashed there, too fast for Rude to catch it.

“Sorry, was daydreaming,” Rude apologized, reaching to dust an imaginary bit of dust off of Reno’s shoulder. The longer Reno gazed at him, the hotter his face felt. Finally the other man turned back around.

“It’s fine. What were we looking for, again?”

Rude exhaled with relief and explained their potential stake-out site. It was still quiet, though a bit less uncomfortable, and when Reno stopped at a food stand, both their moods improved with the overbearing smell of barbecued meat.

The end of their shift came quickly, and though Rude knew he could not go drinking with this man, not so soon after their little dust-up, he had to say _something_. Reno had said something that had been niggling at him all day, and Rude had felt sharp remorse on top of every other painful feeling.

“Reno,” he said, right before they would split ways for the night. Reno’s shoulders moved up a bit, tension rising in his body, and Rude felt guilt at that, too. “I wanted to tell you.”

Reno watched him carefully. He folded his arms and leaned away from him, which Rude was almost thankful for. God, Reno smelled good. “What?”

Rude just cleared his throat, the nervousness a sharp feeling in his chest. “There’s nothing wrong with your height,” he said, though maybe his words came out a little faster than he normally talked. “Or anything else about you.”

Reno looked like he was ready to make a retort, though it died on his pretty lips when he processed just what Rude had said.

Rude quickly bowed his head and turned around. “Anyway, I’ll see you next week.” This weekend maybe Rude would actually be able to calm himself down. He didn’t give Reno a chance to say anything, just darted away from him while the other man stood there feeling slightly confused and probably mad.

* * *

Rude did not show up to work on Monday, and when Reno sauntered into the office, he nearly dropped his coffee at the sight of Rude’s empty chair.

“Where’s…?” he asked, dumfounded.

“Called in,” Tseng said.

Rude _never_ fucking called in; neither did Reno, unless the two of them were still putting themselves together after a particularly bloody battle. But neither of them had done anything like that in weeks. Reno felt his heart start to pound out of his body, and it wasn’t because of the caffeine from his morning beverage. “Did he… Did he say what it was?”

Tseng looked up at him. “Seems personal, no?”

Protectiveness flared in Reno as he stalked up to the boss’s desk. Elena was in her seat, but Reno was able to keep his whisper sharp enough to only let Tseng hear: “I _know_ , okay? I _found out_ and he’s been real suspicious. He’s not taking care of himself.” Reno glanced over his shoulder; Elena, who had been caught looking, quickly went back to her files. Reno let out a soft breath. “Please let me go check on him.”

Tseng stared at him with a soft frown, and then inclined his head. “Maybe you can get through that thick skull,” Tseng muttered, as if he were relieved there was someone else out there to worry about Rude’s health issues.

Reno nearly crushed his coffee cup in excitement. “ _Thank_ you boss, I swear, I’ll make sure he’s good.” Reno rushed out of the office, just in time to catch Elena begin to ask, _What’s that all about…?_

Reno’s head felt foggy the entire way out to Rude’s apartment. When he got there, he didn’t even buzz up, too worried Rude would just send him away; instead he waited for someone to open the door before sliding through and then bounding up the stairs six flights. There was sweat collecting on his nape, but that was all part of this. He clenched his fist and then knocked on Rude’s door. There was no response. He knocked harder, longer this time, and then heard sounds from within: shuffling, at least.

He could hear a body leaning up against the door. Looking into the peep hole. Even a shaky sigh. Rude opened his door, and he looked a lot more sweaty than Reno felt, a red flush on his cheeks and ears. “The hell are you doing here?”

“Let me in.”

Rude stared at him, and maybe it was the feverish state he seemed to be in, but he relented easily, stepping aside. Reno watched him take six long steps to his couch and fell into it, where he’d clearly been lying before. “Can’t I take a sick day?”

“Not when it won’t do anything for you,” Reno said, and closed the door behind him. He locked it. He’d never seen Rude like this, in soft sweat pants and a long-sleeved thermal and bare feet. No sunglasses. Reno’s crush was howling to life in his chest and he had to squeeze his fingers into ground himself. “Your body needs some release, Rude. You need to get dropped.”

Rude rolled over on the couch so that he wasn’t facing Reno. Reno couldn’t help but smile at it, since it was a _patented_ “Reno doesn’t want to talk to you” move. Reno took off his shoes at the door and made his way to the couch, kneeling at it.

“Let me do that for you,” Reno whispered. “I’ll stay dressed. We’ll only take your shirt off. I’ll drop you and ease those sore spots.”

Rude’s shoulders were still a straight, unhappy line. He grunted.

“I’ll hold you but I won’t take advantage of you. I swear. With me here, nobody can fuck with you. You’ll feel so much better. You could come back to work tomorrow and nobody will ever know it wasn’t just food poisoning.”

Rude rolled onto his back. He looked clammy and uncomfortable, and it made Reno crazy. He already wanted to protect this man as his closest colleague at work, but knowing he was all fucked up and scared of his own biological needs? Reno wanted to help him desperately. “I’ll do anything. Please let me help you, partner.”

Rude closed his eyes and then give the barest nod.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” Rude croaked out.

“You gonna fight me?” Reno asked, even as he was helping Rude up off the couch.

Rude’s eyes rose to Reno’s and they were so soft and sad that all Reno wanted to do was kiss him, for fuck’s sake. He didn’t. “Probably,” Rude admitted.

“Let’s get you into bed. I’ll only grip you if you try and hurt me, okay?”

Their walk was slow, but they both seemed very preoccupied with holding onto each other. In the bedroom, Rude carefully tossed his shirt aside. “How are you going to drop me without gripping?”

Reno looked at the swollen parts of him with a frown. “Your pain tolerance is admirable, but it ain’t healthy. The second I get my knuckles in those bruises…” Reno watched a titch of fear curl over Rude’s shoulders before the man crawled onto the bed.

Reno shrugged out of his jacket and actually took the time to button his own dress shirt up a bit more. He wanted Rude to at least be slightly comfortable by this idea. He’d never seen Rude date _anyone_ , so it was possible he also just didn’t want to be in such close quarters with a man.

Well, too damn bad now, Reno thought as his knees dipped into Rude’s mattress. “Please don’t knee me in the balls,” Reno uttered as he crawled over Rude, who kept his eyes shut on purpose.

“Sorry in advance if I do,” Rude muttered, and they were both silent for a moment before uncomfortable chuckles started rolling out of Rude, and then Reno, and then they were laughing together for the first time since before they found out. And then Reno’s thumb found the center of the gland at Rude’s shoulder and pressed in.

Rude’s laughter sizzled into uncomfortable keening. Reno could tell it hurt, since Rude had never made a sound like that in his life, and it felt hard as a pebble under his skin. Rude was trembling under him, like he was trying to hold on.

“Hey, I know it hurts,” Reno said, and then leaned down to press his forehead to Rude’s shoulder so that his mouth hovered close to the center of the bruise. “But I can tell you’re fighting me.”

“I’m… Not moving,” Rude ground out, his voice deep despite the eager soft whining.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Reno said. “If I touch your pec you’re gonna scream.”

“…maybe.”

“Odin’s ass, you’re a stubborn shithead,” Reno chuckled, and at the same time he pressed his mouth to the hot gland under him, he let his knuckles dig into Rude’s chest.

He barely held on when Rude tried to buck him off, the sound more of a scream than anything else they’d he ard so far. Reno felt his chest tighten in discomfort at the noise but didn’t give up, his knuckles digging. Rude was still thrashing under him, trembling like a damn leaf, but still he held fast above him.

“Just let it out, big guy,” Reno whispered, and felt Rude give him one last great shudder before slipping into stillness. His chest still moved with great breaths, and when Reno looked up, his eyes and mouth were half open. Reno took his hand away from Rude’s chest and moved forward a bit; Rude was staring up, his pupils dilated. “Like a damn trance,” Reno muttered, and Rude’s eyes flickered to him at his voice.

“Good, sir?” he breathed.

It was _not_ Reno’s fault for popping a boner at that, and he tried his damndest to arch his hips up and away. “Yeah, you’re doin’ real good,” Reno muttered, and wanted nothing more than to press his cock into that slack, gorgeous mouth. Instead, he rolled off of him completely. “Turn onto your side.”

Rude did. Reno looked at his back, impressed at the utter lack of scarring from the frostburn incident, and instead let himself press up against the long line of his body. He reached for one of Rude’s pillows — he _did_ have a lot of pillows in this enormous bed — and tucked it between his own hips and Rude’s ass, just so that he wasn’t grinding his own needy dick to completion on the other man. Rude let out a soft sigh as Reno’s arms came around him, Reno’s left hand squeezing on the swollen gland in Rude’s chest in deep circular movements.

“Hurts,” Rude said.

Reno’s arms tightened further around him. God, if he’d been protective before, it was a thousand times worse, now. “I know, baby,” Reno said, and cursed himself for the pet name. Not that Rude minded, or would probably even remember, considering how sharply he’d seemed to fall off into this strange place. Because of that, Reno let himself indulge a little bit, his other hand finding the gland at his shoulder and pressing it too. It already felt much less hard, more malleable under his touches. “It’s gotta hurt. You’re learning a lesson.”

Rude’s body was hot in his grasp and he made another soft moan, this time less of a whimper and more pleased. Reno squeezed his eyes shut, thankful he’d bothered to stuff a pillow between them. Reno let go of the shoulder gland, instead letting his right hand rest on Rude’s textured abs. That did not help his own turned on situation. Fuck, he was so built. Just an enormous, gorgeous man who wanted nothing to do with Reno when he was in his right mind. It wasn’t fair.

“You gotta let someone like me take care of you,” Reno murmured, letting his lips slide against Rude’s neck. Just a soft kiss, just a little something for himself.

“I want you to, sir,” Rude breathed, and Reno was struggling to keep a hold of his damn self. “I just don’t want to.”

“It’s not fair for you to be honest like this,” Reno murmured, squeezing his eyes shut. “I can’t take shit you say like this as being totally coherent, Rude.”

Rude didn’t say anything else. It was almost a relief, even though conversation may have helped Reno stay free from distraction. Instead, Reno let his thumb slide out and tease Rude’s nipple in between applying even pressure to his chest. His partner moaned, body rolling back against him. “Sensitive?” Reno teased.

Rude didn’t seem capable of making more words, just tried to grind himself closer into Reno’s body. Reno just sighed, holding onto him tighter so that he’d stop writhing, when he caught sight of the manifestation of Rude’s need. His sweats were tented to a startling degree, and a wet spot was slowly spreading at its apex.

Reno buried his face in Rude’s neck. Why were the gods testing him?

“Touch me, sir?” Rude asked, and Reno’s cock felt as stiff as a fucking traffic light.

“No,” Reno said sternly, his voice with a tone if finality as he tried to get the sight of a very aroused cock begging for attention _out of his mind_.

“Please?”

Reno groaned, biting into Rude’s neck. Rude let out a soft whimper. That did not help either of their situations. Reno had come out here to help Rude ease his hormonal suffering, but now he was just fighting himself. He should have known this would be a bad idea. There were rules, contracts. Reno had bypassed that, just barreling into Rude’s apartment and telling him to take his shirt off.

“What if I said,” Reno caught himself saying, his voice shaking. “What if I said you could touch yourself? But you have to. Keep your pants on.”

Rude was quiet for a moment, and then breathed, “Can I, sir?”

Reno was humping the pillow, if slowly. He couldn’t stop himself. “Yeah, do it.”

Rude’s hand slid into those pajama bottoms and Reno had to bite his lip at just how wet the man’s grip on his cock sounded. He was producing enough precum to basically be his own self-lubricating dick, which Reno had to not think about too long lest he just mess up his pants immediately. Rude’s voice was music to his ears. “Ah..!”

Rude’s hand moved over himself indulgently, a quick pace that belied his own lack of release. Reno realized he was going to be mad if he woke up out of subspace just absolutely covered in his own cum in pajama pants that had dried solid, and he was left with a moral quandary. “Rude, stop,” Reno said, and Rude didn’t. The sound of his hand moving over wet flesh sped up. “Rude, I told you. Stop.”

“Feels—too good,” Rude moaned, and Reno felt arousal light up his insides, not only from the sound of his long-time crush literally jerking off while pressed close, but at the sudden challenge he was now faced with. He needed to get this submissive — _his_ submissive — to follow orders.

Reno let go of him, and Rude was almost surprised at the sudden loss of warmth along his back; Reno shoved him onto his back, reaching for his wrists and pinning them next to his body. Reno _heard_ the wet thump of Rude’s cock hit his skin as he let go of it. He did not look. It was bad enough that his left hand was touching Rude’s right, and it was _slippery_.

 _Fuck_.

“What did I say, Rude?” Reno growled, and Rude moaned under him.

“I’m sorry, please—”

“What did I _say_?”

“To stop! I stopped!” Rude’s eyebrows drew down, but then his eyes looked up at Reno with the most convincing puppy dog expression he’d ever seen. Reno was gonna lose it.

“You know why I asked you to stop?”

“I don’t deserve it,” Rude whimpered.

“No, dumbass,” Reno exhaled, laughing above him. His legs were boxing Rude’s in, and he was doing a very good job of ignoring just how close their clothed dicks were. “If you come out of this absolutely slathered in cum, you’re gonna hate me.” Rude blinked slowly at him, as if he couldn’t understand why Reno would think that. “I mean it. I…” Reno exhaled, letting go of Rude’s wrists. Rude left his arms in place. “I want you to get off, but I don’t think I should watch. I don’t think you’d want me to.”

Above him, Reno could take a better look at him like this; already the glands at his neck and chest seemed much less irritated, but pressing on them had certainly caused a lot of slick to pump out of that fat cock, and Reno was _trying very hard_ to not think about that. “I’m gonna get off of you. Then I want you to push your pants down and come on your belly. Can you do that for me?”

Rude looked like a god damn treat. He nodded up at him, easy as pie, and Reno all but leapt off of him. “I promise I won’t leave you alone, okay? Just—oh, jeez,” and Reno whipped around as he watched Rude all but shove his pants off. He’d m anaged to turn away before he saw anything.

Damn.

Reno was out of the bedroom a second later, the sheer blissful noises of Rude jerking off his slick cock too much for him to handle. He hid in the bathroom, yanking his zipper open and was coming in his hand in five fast strokes.

“ _Shit_ ,” he breathed, and could tell the little gland near his dick was swelling up as well. He hadn’t had a sub for months and it was starting to become harder to ignore, especially when his normal method of quelling that desire (acknowledging that maybe he’s just into big quiet doms like Rude) was no longer a possibility. He scrubbed his hands in the sink, trying to ease his breath. He’d just need to walk in w ith a damp towel, throw it on Rude to clean off whatever was left, and then just… Just hold him until he came back out of it.

Reno could do that.

He didn’t _want_ to do that, but he could do it.

He turned the water to cool, cupped his hands under the sink and drank until his face felt cold. Then he wet the towel of his choice and slinked back to Rude’s bedroom. He pressed his ear up against the door and could hear _it_ , the sound of desperate whines and the _schlick schlick_ of Rude’s hands working over himself.

Reno stepped back, letting out a slow exhale, willing his libido to die. He didn’t have Rude’s permission for any of this shit, but he knew how to calm down a hormone-fucked-up submissive, and sometimes it involved the more intimate details.

The sound of Rude softly calling out brought him back into himself, and he leaned in, only hearing heavy panting. He opened the door, not daring to look. “Hey, Rude. You done?”

Rude just panted in response.

Reno carefully stepped forward, holding the towel up in front of his face, until his knees bumped the bed. He peeked, enough that he could see Rude’s face, and then tossed the damp towel over the other man’s hips an torso. Reno could look, finally, and gave a soft sigh. “That’s it, baby. Just gonna clean you up, then we’ll sleep it off, okay?” The barrier of the towel made it so that Reno felt very little as he cleaned up the general viscinity of Rude’s body. He threw the soiled towel onto the ground and, still, without looking, pulled Rude’s pajama bottoms back up to cover himself.

Rude looked up at him, doe-eyed and soft, and Reno swore softly. “You okay?” Reno asked.

“Mm.”

“I’m gonna — I’m gonna hold you. Is that okay?” Reno asked.

“Mm.”

Reno looked for the pillow he’d been using before to protect Rude’s _chastity_ , and climbed onto the bed. He tucked the pillow between them and then wrapped his arms around the bigger man. “Just try and get some sleep, okay?” Reno said. “When you wake up you’re gonna feel great. And also probably hate me again, but.”

Rude’s voice was a lazy purr. “Never hated you.”

Reno hid his face in Rude’s neck. “We’ll see, big guy.”

* * *

When Rude woke up, his body felt different. There was still an overarching theme of general pain, but his chest felt considerably less full of raw pain. He felt a little woozy, but he also felt supremely comfortable, encased in a warmth he’d never known. His eyes flew open.

There was one slim arm around his waist and one nose and mouth snuffled into the back of his neck. And while he could feel Reno’s chest against his bare back, he couldn’t feel his partner’s legs. He carefully slid his hand down between them and felt the pillow as a protective barrier, and found himself letting out a chuckle of surprise.

The sound seemed to wake Reno up immediately. “You up?” he asked, and then said, “Ah, sorry.” Reno withdrew his arms from around him, moved his mouth away. It took all of Rude’s willpower not to beg him to stay in place.

“Barely,” Rude croaked. “I wanna sit up.”

Reno was once again out of the bed a moment later. He was a ball of nervous energy, and Rude couldn’t blame him. He’d treated him like a potential enemy the past few days, and for what? Because Reno could drop him? Because if Reno did that, he could do whatever he wanted to him?

Rude pushed himself up to sitting and noticed he still had his pants on. He glanced over at Reno, who was turned away from him. “How was I?”

“You were fine,” Reno said, purposely not looking at him. “I dropped you and beat on your chest and neck, and then you um…” Reno’s voice cracked. “All that hormone soup had to go somewhere, so I uh.” Rude stared daggers at Reno’s back until Reno uttered, “I told you to touch yourself and then I l-left.”

The blush was involuntary, but he was unable to look away from his partner’s shoulders. “So you didn’t…?”

“No, dammit,” Reno said, folding his arms and sounding very put out. “Gripping your rowdy ass is hell of a different ballgame from actually taking advantage of you while you’re in that space. I just.” He swallowed thickly. “I had to hide in the bathroom until I was calm enough, and I waited until I couldn’t… Hear you any more, and then I brought a towel in here and, yeah. Anyway.”

Rude’s heart was swelling. “Look at me.”

“I’d rather not,” Reno said stiffly.

“You have something to hide?”

Reno laughed, and it sounded vaguely unhinged. “Look, I tried not to look at your boner, I’d prefer that you not look at mine, either.”

Heat coiled in Rude’s belly, again. “You not taking care of your biological needs either, partner?”

Rude could practically hear the words on Reno’s tongue: _That’s none of your business_. But he wouldn’t say them, not when it had been Rude’s own rallying cry. Reno still didn’t turn back to him. “For the past couple of months I’ve had my eye on this dominant,” he breathed, “because nobody made me feel like he did. And then all this shit happened and it’s.” Reno exhaled shakily. “It’s takin’ a toll on me, a little bit.”

Rude stared at his back. “Reno…”

“Anyway, you’re back up from your drop,” Reno said, and quickly made his way to the bedroom door. “You should feel a lot better tomorrow, so you can actually come in. I need to report to Tseng, let him know you’re back in commission. For a while, anyway.”

“Stay,” Rude said.

“You don’t want me to do that,” Reno said voicelessly. “I can’t be good any more. I need…” _To fuck someone into submission_. “…to get my own shit straightened out. Not gonna put you in danger because of it.”

All Rude had to do was tell him he could be that person; that he didn’t _want_ Reno to touch any other submissive. That he found the idea of anyone touching his partner a practical death wish. Reno was his.

But he also couldn’t provide what Reno needed; Rude could barely function without being overly medicated. He’d had hardly any memory of being dropped so heavily into subspace, and only had the memory of Reno’s warm voice on his neck, because Reno had gone out of his way to increase Rude’s comfort.

Rude should have been able to sacrifice his own issues, his battered self esteem, for a chance to put Reno at ease, to let him settle int the natural of order of things. Rude should have been able to stalk over and drop to his knees at Reno’s feet and begged him to stay.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” Rude said instead, his voice a ghost.

Reno was half way out the door. “Right as rain,” he said, and then he was gone.

Rude dug his palms into his eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked the air, and felt cold without his partner’s slim arm wrapped around him.


End file.
